Life and Death
by Key of Magic
Summary: It's only been two weeks since the demigods returned from Central City, but terror strikes again. Nico di Angelo is kidnapped by the evil Zoom and forced to do something that isn't possible, even for a son of Hades. Can his friends find a way to get into the world of The Flash and save him before Zoom gets what he wants? (Sequel to Demigods and Metahumans)
1. Chapter 1

**I was affected by the cliffhanger myself, so I decided to start on the sequel to "Demigods and Metahumans" right away! I hope you guys enjoy it. Please review if you do.**

 _ **Percy**_

The sun shone down on the stucco buildings of New Rome, making them glisten with an almost magical light. It was a perfect day to go out walking, which was what pretty much everyone was doing. Roman legionnaires strolled the pavement, laughing with their friends, while families and senior citizens stopped at the shops and cafes. Percy and Annabeth, however, were sitting on a park bench and munching Roman donuts.

The Seven demigods went back and forth between the camps, enjoying the friendship of Roman and Greeks, and the summer break. It had only been a couple of weeks since they had ended up in Central City and defeated an evil energy-stealing metahuman, thanks to the Hera, everyone's least-favourite goddess. But, Percy had to admit, he missed the place.

He had made friends with The Flash, a young man named Barry Allen who could run really, really fast. And Percy missed Barry's team, too - they had stood by his side and helped him and his friends a lot.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Annabeth asked, bringing Percy out of his thoughts. She scooted a little closer to him, the scent of her caramel latte going into his nose.

"Nothing," Percy answered.

"It's obviously not nothing, Seaweed Brain. Your eyes were all scrunched together."

"Fine. I was thinking about S.T.A.R. Labs."

Annabeth looked up at the sky and smiled. "Yeah. That was a nice… vacation."

"You're calling it a vacation?"

"Well, every vacation we go on, we get attacked, don't we?"

"That's true." Then Percy frowned. "What vacations have we -"

"We're on vacation right now," Annabeth replied, giving Percy a kiss.

"So… We'll probably get attacked, won't we?"

As soon as he had said it, something came hurtling out of the sky at full speed. Percy realized that it was a pegasus; _his_ pegasus Blackjack, actually, and riding it was Camp Jupiter's praetor, Reyna.

She whooped as she came in for a landing. Percy had never seen her this excited before.

"I love riding!" she exclaimed, dismounting Blackjack. "Your pegasus is great, Percy."

Blackjack whinnied.

"He says thank you," Percy explained, "and that he wants donuts."

Reyna frowned. "Is it safe for a horse to have donuts?"

Blackjack huffed and stomped his hooves.

"Okay, okay, buddy," Percy said, then turned back to the praetor. "He says that he is not a _horse_ , and that nothing can keep him from donuts. I agree to that."

"Here." Annabeth handed Reyna a bag, which consisted of a rainbow sprinkled donut. Blackjack almost reared with excitement and gobbled it up.

"Anyway," Reyna said, turning to Percy and Annabeth, "I came to tell you that Hazel wants you to meet her at Temple Hill."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

Reyna shrugged. "She invited everyone. We'll find out."

* * *

And so they trudged through New Rome and up Temple Hill where, indeed, temples and shrines lined the path. All the Roman versions of the gods - Mars, Venus, Mercury, Neptune (though that shrine was just a shack), and, of course, Jupiter at the top. But they found Hazel and the others at the shrine of Pluto, who was her godly father, looking worried.

"What is it, Hazel?" Percy asked as he ran forward.

"I came here to see my father's shrine, just like I always do," Hazel explained, her voice hoarse, "when I saw a vision of... of -"

She took a breath, then gulped.

"Nico."

The demigods exchanged glances, each one of them knowing exactly who Nico di Angelo was. The son of Hades was sort of an emo and not the socialist guy, but he was still a friend of theirs and had helped them many times.

"What happened to him?" Jason asked.

"He was in a room, chained up and unconscious," Hazel said. "And over him stood…" She took a breath. "He was a big man, and he was vibrating. B-But I think I know who he was."

"Who?" her friends pressed.

"Zoom," Hazel finished. "The person Barry was talking about."

All of the half-bloods paled. Except for Reyna, of course, since she hadn't been on the trip. And they hadn't told her.

"What?" Reyna asked. "Who's Barry?"

"Reyna…" Piper said, biting her lip. "We should probably explain. A couple of weeks ago, we were at Camp Half-Blood when…"

And so, the tale was told, with each demigod weaving in their own part of the story. Reyna's face was calm, just like it always was - she had a way of hiding her fear, her anger, or her confusion.

Percy was worried that she'd be mad that they hadn't told her, but she understood. "It was a task from Juno," Reyna said. "Er, Hera. And it was definitely… odd."

"Odd doesn't really sum things up when you're a demigod," Leo muttered.

"So you think Zoom really has Nico?" Frank asked Hazel.

She nodded. "I don't _think_ so, I _know_ so. I saw it. It was a vision, from my father or something."

"Or maybe because you and Nico share a connection," Annabeth said. "Whatever the case, we have to save him. From what I heard, Zoom is dangerous. But how do we get to Central City?"

"Last time, Hera opened those doors for us," Piper said. "Who's going to convince her to do it again?"

"Yeah, what if she asks us to pray to her or something like that?" Leo asked. He crossed his arms across his chest. "I am _not_ doing that."

"Then we have to reason with her," Percy suggested. "Or find a way to summon the doors ourselves."

"Let's go to her temple first," Reyna offered. "Uh, I mean, you can go to the temple."

"No, Reyna," Annabeth said, putting a hand on the praetor's shoulder. "This time, you're coming with us."

 **I think I might make the chapters shorter for this story. I'm not sure, I'll see.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Nico**_

 _A few days ago…_

Nico trudged along, picking through the strawberry fields at Camp Half-Blood. He had stopped by, interrupting his usual travels (shadow travels, to be exact) around the country, and deciding to stop by to see his friends.

Before he could head to the cabins and ask where they were, he passed the canoe lake, where a bright light flashed. Nico didn't like bright lights, but he looked, anyway. There stood a huge, burly, vibrating gray man with lights for eyes that glared at him. They seemed to look through the son of Hades's soul.

Nico started to back away and found him pressed against a wall, so he momentarily had nowhere to go. And there wasn't a single moment to spare.

"It's too late, Mr. di Angelo," the man hissed, coming closer.

"W-Who are you?" Nico asked, pressing himself a little harder.

The man laughed. "I am Zoom, and I am going to kill The Flash and all the demigods."

He reached out toward Nico, and before the son of Hades could do anything, everything went black.

 _Present_

Nico opened his eyes blearily, only to find himself in a dark stone cell. The floor was ice-cold, making Nico shiver, but the son of Hades tried to get up. He heard the click of chains and found himself bound to the wall at the wrists and ankles, but he was still able to stand up.

That didn't give Nico a better view. Everything was dark… that's when Nico realized he might be able to shadow-travel.

Until bright lights turned on.

Nico squinted, not used to it, and heard a faint laughter coming from the other end of the room. No… the other side of the bars, which contained the son of Hades in his little prison cell.

"Can't do much while the light is turned on, huh, demigod?" the voice of Zoom hissed.

Zoom… Nico still had no idea who that was. Probably some psychopath god, trying to get rid of the other gods and their children… but Zoom had mentioned The Flash. Who was that? Some kind of Greek hero Nico had never heard of?

"What do you want with me?" Nico asked. That was probably the thing he wanted to know most.

Zoom growled and stepped closer. "You're a child of the Underworld, or so I've heard. You can do many death-related things."

"Yeah, like kill you."

The lights brightened, momentarily blinding Nico and making him gasp.

"Watch your words, son of Hades," Zoom said. "You cannot kill me, nor can The Flash, nor can your half-blood friends."

"Who's The Flash?"

Zoom laughed, louder this time, and the sound reminded Nico of metal being scraped against metal. "A useless metahuman who thinks he can defeat me."

"A metahuman?"

"Someone with powers, demigod. Like me. And you, too, I suppose, but I am going to use your powers for something else."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "So that's why you kidnapped me. What do you want me to do, summon a skeleton army?"

"No." Zoom stepped closer, so that his face was pressed into the bars of the cage, and he was almost nose-to-nose with Nico. "I want you to bring back the dead."

Nico froze. Whoever this Zoom was, he had to know that that was _not_ possible, even for a son of Hades. But Nico had a horrible feeling, deep down in his gut, that this "metahuman" wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I-I can't," he managed. "It's impossible."

"Then what's the use of being a son of Hades?"

"That's not my fault. I -"

Zoom banged his fists on the bars, making the building rumble and Nico stumble. "There's no arguing with me, boy. I will hurt you!"

"But -"

"Do you want that?"

Nico looked down and swallowed. "Of course not. But I already told you, I can't do it. So do what you want to me, because you'll never get anything out of me."

Zoom snarled. "I know what's going on here. You think that if I believed that you could bring back the dead, I wouldn't hurt you, because I am that desperate. And you are right. I won't hurt you. I'll hurt your friends."

A shudder passed through Nico's body. "But I have no friends here."

"Oh, you'll meet someone, very soon. And don't think that I won't get anything out of you, because I will." His voice turned a little hoarse. "I will get her back."

Then, he stalked away, leaving Nico in a patch of light and unable to do anything.

 **Predictions, people? Who do you think Nico will meet?**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Annabeth**_

It was a mad dash toward the temple of Juno, the Goddess of Annoying.

Annabeth especially hated her; they had a long, bad history together that, at one point, involved cows with stomach issues.

"I hope Juno listens," Hazel said. "It was Hera who sent us to Central City."

"Well, their sides don't fight anymore, right?" Percy assured. "We can only hope for the best."

They stepped inside the temple of the goddess, which was empty except for a large stone statue of Juno in her goatskin cloak, looking calm and smug, just as she always did. Pottery around the room held peacock feathers, casting the floor in a cascade of blue and green

"Alright, Juno," Annabeth stepped forward. "We need your help. This is the first time we've done this, since you're such a -"

"Okay, okay," Percy muttered, gently pushing Annabeth out of the way, then continuing, "such a nice goddess! Uh, you've helped us a lot, Juno. But now we need your help."

A quiet laughter echoed through the room, making the demigods inch closer together. "Don't do that, lady," Leo yelled. "It's creepy."

"Ah, Leo Valdez," Juno's voice said. "My little hero. See, I knew you'd appreciate my help one day."

"Hey, I'm not the one who -"

"Yes, yes, you're great," Jason cut off through gritted teeth. "Now can you send us to Central City?"

"There is one problem," Juno replied. "Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano did not come to Central City last time. I'm not sure if she's worthy."

"What? Of course she is!" Piper shouted. "She's a praetor! And she delivered the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood to unite the Romans and the Greeks."

"Ah, but I sent you to Central City because you are the demigods of the prophecy," Juno mused. "Unfortunately, Reyna isn't."

"But that doesn't make her any less of a hero," Jason replied, stepping toward the Roman praetor protectively. Not that Reyna needed protection, but she smiled at her former partner in praetorship.

"Well, she has to prove herself worthy," Juno simply said.

"But -" Annabeth began, then Reyna cut her off.

"I know why Juno's doing this," she said in a quieter voice. "Hera is all about 'proving yourself worthy', but Juno is Roman. She's worse when it comes to that. She wants me to prove that I can go to Central City and help you all."

Reyna turned to the wall, or wherever she thought Juno's voice was coming from. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Nothing much," the goddess answered. "Just a little obstacle course that I set up, which will test your speed and strength. Go to the Field of Mars, and you will find it there. But you better hurry, because I hear your dear Nico di Angelo is in danger."

"Wait, do you know anything about that?" Frank asked.

"Not any more than you. Now go. Unless you want time to prepare."

Reyna shook her head. "A true Roman should be prepared for anything that comes without notice."

Juno seemed to smile, though maybe Annabeth just imagined that. "Yes, my dear. I guess that means that you are a true Roman."

* * *

Annabeth wished that that was enough, but you never knew with Juno.

Her and her friends followed Reyna down Temple Hill, toward the huge field where the War Games were held every week. Usually, builders were working to build new fortresses for the legionnaires to knock down, but right then, it was empty. Maybe Juno had sent out some message that the Roman praetor was about to do a deathly obstacle course.

Well, Annabeth hoped it wasn't _deathly_. It would be pretty sad if a hero died in an obstacle course made from Juno, the worst goddess ever. When Annabeth thought about it like that, how bad could it be?

She was wrong.

Juno was really putting Reyna to the test. A running track wove around the field, aligned with many different ways to die - axes, flamethrowers, ditches to jump over and sticky pits of tar. The weapons were all moving, so Reyna had to dodge them, all of when she was still running. Her time would probably be taken down.

The praetor looked a little shocked, but it was hard to tell with Reyna. There was still a fierce look in her eyes - ready for battle - and she calmly walked up to the starting line, her back straight. The Seven took seats around the track on bleachers that had been set up, already holding Roman legionnaires who were cheering. Frank took his praetor's seat at the front and watched, his face a little gray.

That's when the goddess herself appeared at the starting line, holding a megaphone that read, PROPERTY OF OLYMPUS. "Welcome, legionnaires!" Juno shouted. "We have gathered here today to put your praetor, Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano, to a little test!"

The Romans cheered. Annabeth wondered if they even knew why Reyna was taking the test, but they didn't seem to care - maybe that was part of Juno's magic. She smiled, a little evilly, or at least Annabeth comprehended it that way, and continued, "Are you ready?"

Whistles and claps echoed through the audience. Annabeth felt like she was at some motorcycle stunt show. "Do you think Reyna will be okay?" Piper, who was sitting next to Annabeth, whispered.

"She's Reyna," Annabeth replied. "She's handled worse."

And so, the race began, and Annabeth's back stiffened while Reyna had a determined look on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Nico**_

Nico sat in his cell and waited, for nothing in particularly.

It wasn't like he wanted Zoom to come back; that man was frightening, though Nico had no idea what he was capable of. However, the son of Hades had to stay strong and think hard - of a way to get out of there.

But he wondered who Zoom was talking about; the person that he was going to meet. How come they hadn't shown up? It was making Nico even more anxious than he already was.

Though he was tired, Nico didn't sleep. He couldn't. His brain was too jumbled, and he was worried that something would happen while he dozed. So he sat there, exhausted, his eyes flicking from corner to corner.

Until he heard a sound.

It was a faint shuffling, and Nico was sure that he hadn't heard it before, in the time that he had been there (though he had no idea how long that was). It could have been mice, or rats, or even Zoom close by, but the sound was innocent, almost like another prisoner was there.

And that was true. Nico heard crying; a girl's soft voice, and he inched closer to the edge of his cell. He couldn't see through the other side, so he searched for openings, but then began to wonder if he was going crazy, if the sound wasn't actually there. But luckily, he found a crack in the wall big enough for him to peer through.

And sure enough, he saw a teenage girl, weeping. She was standing up, her hands tied over her head. Her face was tear-streaked and her wrists were raw from trying to escape the ropes. Nico felt a pang of sympathy for this girl, because she was in the exact same situation he was in. Maybe they could work together to get out of here, but he had to talk to her first…

"Hey," Nico whispered through the crack.

The girl froze. She turned, revealing her bloodshot eyes. "W-Who are you?"

"I'm Nico," the son of Hades whispered. "I've been captured, too. What's your name?"

Usually, Nico wasn't a very social guy, but he didn't seem to have a choice; this girl might have known a little more than he did. "Jessie," she replied. "J-Jessie Wells."

"How long have you been here?"

"A long time, though it's hard to keep track." Jessie bit her lip. "Are you sure you're not going to hurt me, that this isn't some trick?"

"Of course not," Nico said. He was about to say, _I swear on the River Styx_ , but held back, not knowing if this girl was a demigod or not. "Zoom captured me, just like he captured you."

"Z-Zoom." Jessie slammed her eyes shut, shaking. "I don't want to hear that name."

Nico leaned in closer so that his face pressed against the broken cement. "What did he do to you?"

"He wants to kill me," Jessie said. "But is waiting for me to tell him why my father…" she choked.

Nico sighed. "You don't have to tell me. The point is, we have to get out of here."

"We can't. Zoom will kill us." She narrowed her eyes at the son of Hades. "Why would you want me to come with you, anyway? You don't even know me."

"Maybe, but you're obviously in danger."

Jessie swallowed. "I haven't talked to anyone, except for Zoom, in so long. Tell me more about yourself."

"That won't be happening," a voice echoed through the cells.

Jessie turned, her eyes wide and her body shaking. Zoom appeared in front of her cell, growling. "You think that you can talk to the other prisoner?" he demanded.

"I-I'm sorry. He talked to me," Jessie replied.

 _Just blame it all on me_ , Nico thought, but he knew that the girl was right. However, that wasn't going to stop him.

"What have you done to her?" Nico yelled, rattling his chains to get Zoom to notice him.

Zoom turned his bright eyes at the son of Hades. "And what makes you think this is your business?" he asked.

"It is now, since Jessie is also a prisoner. Let her go. Let us both go!"

Zoom laughed, his body vibrating. "You're strong, son of Hades. But not strong enough to beat me." He walked over to Nico's cell and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a key.

Butterflies flitted around in Nico's stomach, but he didn't think Zoom was using the key for what he hoped for. The metahuman put it into the lock and turned, sliding the cage open. He walked forward, and Nico looked up, his teeth chattering from the vibe that Zoom gave off.

"Scared, demigod?" Zoom asked. "You should be."

He reached down and grabbed Nico's chains, pulling the son of Hades along until he was out of the cell. Nico resisted, but he knew that it was no use; Zoom was too strong.

Jessie watched as the metahuman pulled the demigod to another room, her eyes still wide with fear. Then Zoom closed the door and Nico lost sight of her.

He lowered his face so that it was level with Nico's, and his eyes seemed to bore right through the son of Hades's body. "What do you want?" Nico hissed.

"Didn't I already tell you? You're going to bring back the dead."

"And didn't I already tell you that I can't do that?"

Zoom yanked Nico forward, snarling. "Do it or else I'll kill Jessie right in front of your eyes. Then I'll kill you."

Nico was frozen for a moment, his breath rasping in his throat. He realized that he didn't really have a choice. He didn't want Jessie to die because of him; that wasn't fair. He'd do what he could, what he must. Even if that meant tricking Zoom, pretending that he could bring back the dead when he couldn't. Yes, that was what he would do, at least until Zoom found out…

Nico shuffled over to a table where a dead body lay, of a woman with light blonde hair and fair skin. "Who is that?" he asked.

Zoom walked slowly to the dead body. His voice was shaky when he said, "My wife."

Nico was silent for a moment. "And… you want me to bring her back?"

"Yes." Zoom turned away, his form flickering, and walked over to Nico. He grabbed the demigod's chains and attached them to a hook at the end of the bed, in a way so that Nico could move his hands but not go too far. Then, he left the room, locking the door behind him.

Nico couldn't believe that Zoom was ever in love. Perhaps that was why he was so bitter, but right now, he was just plain _evil_. The son of Hades looked at the dead woman. Maybe she had been evil, too.

And so, with a sigh, Nico got to work, or at least pretended to.

 **You're probably wondering who Zoom's wife is, or even if he has a wife, but she's sort of an OC that I created. Zoom had to have one, right? Also, I missed the last episode of The Flash (the crossover one with Arrow) so I might not be up-to-date. But I still hope you enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Reyna**_

Reyna kept her eyes on the track, her breathing steady.

When Juno shouted, "Go!" Reyna could barely hear it, because she was already off, zooming down the racecourse. She didn't know why she was pushing herself so hard, but maybe it was because she wanted a chance to be with The Seven, to fight with them. Of course, she knew them very well, but while they sailed to Rome and Greece on a giant warship, she rode alone on a pegasus. While they battled the giants she delivered the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. They hadn't really been able to do something dangerous together.

She also wanted to see this new world of Central City. It sounded so… interesting. And she had seen a lot of interesting in her life.

So Reyna ran, though she doubted it was as fast as The Flash (and she hoped that Juno didn't expect her to run that fast) until she encountered the first axe. It swung down on her, maybe motion-sensored, but she ducked and slid across the mud, her purple cloak rippling behind her. Then she continued, panting, as if nothing had happened at all.

Reyna encountered more obstacles along the way. She had to jump over pools of lava that seared her shoes, avoid cacti that fell from the sky (how that happened, Reyna didn't know) dodge flames that tried to lick her, and even face a hellhound. It snarled, its red eyes glowing, but Reyna whipped out her sword and cut it to dust.

After that, the Roman praetor was exhausted. She had been running for a long time, and not just that - avoiding obstacles that tried to kill her. _It's perfectly Juno_ , Renya thought. But it wasn't over.

At the end, there was a row of black bars that vibrated against the ground. The praetor had no idea what they were, but soon Juno appeared in front of her, smiling as though she was offering Reyna some cookies. "The last obstacle, dear," Juno said. "In Central City, you see, things tend to get… electrical."

Reyna didn't know what that meant, but Juno continued. "If you touch the black bars, they zap you, so you have to weave your way through them."

The praetor was panting, and sweat trickled down her neck, but she wasn't going to give up now. No, she wasn't going to let some electricity stop her. She had ruled Camp Jupiter with a boy who was all about electricity once; she could handle it. And so, Reyna stepped forward, but didn't get zapped.

She moved slowly, carefully stepping here and there, avoiding the vibrating, crackling black bars. She jumped over a couple and made it. Soon, there was only one to go… one big one… and Reyna moved back. The audience gasped and leaned forward, probably thinking that their praetor had given up. But they were wrong.

Reyna started to run, faster than she had the entire race, until she gained enough speed to leap over the bar and into the finish line. The Romans cheered and Reyna tried to catch her breath, but she was alright. She had done it. It was over.

Her friends rushed over to help her, and Piper put her arm around Reyna's shoulder, pulling the Roman praetor up. "You okay?" the daughter of Aphrodite asked.

"Yeah," Reyna replied. She smirked. "I've been through worse."

Just then, Juno came over, her goatskin cloak fluttering behind her. Percy glared at her. "You happy now, Goat Lady?"

"That's _cow_ lady, thank you very much," Juno hissed. Then she turned to Reyna and smiled. "Very good, dear. I suppose it's time."

"Time for what?" Leo asked.

"To open the doors, of course! You're all headed to Central City."

And before the demigods could even prepare, two big metal doors appeared in front of them. The doors opened with a _ding_ , revealing an empty elevator car.

"Well, we're in," Frank said. "You first, fellow praetor."

Reyna stepped in, and her friends followed her. Then the doors closed, and Camp Jupiter was reduced to nothing.

* * *

They went up and up, the elevator shaking. Where they were going, Reyna didn't know. Through the time space continuum, maybe? Just the universe itself? Or maybe the elevator took a plane to Central City. Whatever the case, they got there in seconds, and the doors opened, revealing a science lab.

Computers were lined up on a desk, and there were some TVs in the back. Chalkboards and charts showed diagrams of cells, while test tubes held liquids of different colours. The room led off to two other ones, and in front of the elevator was a long hallway that seemed to wrap around the building.

"Welcome to S.T.A.R Labs," Annabeth introduced, stepping out of the elevator.

"I missed this place," Hazel murmured.

"Yeah, we made some good friends here," Leo agreed. Then he called, "Cisco! Cisco, it's me, your buddy Leo!"

"Who's Cisco?" Reyna asked.

"Oh, you'll meet him," Piper answered. She added in a whisper, "He and Leo hit it off."

"I can see that." Reyna watched as four people entered the room; a man with dark brown hair and glasses, a young woman with pale skin and curly caramel hair, a young man with shoulder-length black hair, and another young man with light brown hair and green eyes.

The man with the shoulder-length black hair's eyes widened. "Leo? Guys? Is that you?"

"You bet it's us!" Leo cheered, and he fist-bumped the man who spoke and must have been Cisco. "What's up?"

"Well, something with you, obviously," the girl said. "Why did you come here? And you brought someone else. Or did you come here just for a visit?"

Annabeth sighed. "I wish it was that simple, Caitlin, but we're here because our friend is in danger. Not this one, by the way. Her name is Reyna."

Reyna smiled and waved. "Hello. I'm very glad to meet you."

"So, you're a demigod, too?" Cisco asked, looking fascinated.

"Praetor to the Roman camp, actually. With Frank, of course."

Frank grinned and Cisco said, "Awesome! I wanna go some time. Can you buy me a ticket?"

"Anyway," Hazel cut in, her smile fading, "I had a vision about my brother, Nico di Angelo. I… I think he's been captured by Zoom."

That's when the man with the green eyes cut in. "Okay, first: you have a brother, Hazel? And second: are you sure Zoom captured him?"

Hazel nodded. "I think the vision was from my father. But we have to go help him because -"

"Because Zoom is extremely dangerous," said the man with the glasses. "I'm Dr. Wells, by the way," he explained to Reyna, "and that's Barry Allen. He's also known as The Flash."

So the young man with the green eyes was the famous Flash. Reyna immediately wanted to see him run as fast as lightning.

"What I don't understand is why Zoom would capture Nico," Jason said. "I mean, Nico's young, and... "

"He's also very powerful," Percy added. "I've seen that dude summon a whole skeleton army -"

"So he's a son of Hades?" Cisco interrupted excitedly. "Like, the god of death? Ooh, I'm so gonna call him _Death Boy_."

"Uh, Nico doesn't like that," Piper said.

"Fine, but I'll think of something…"

"So, the good thing about Nico being powerful is that he can probably defend himself," Frank said, "But Zoom might also want to use him _because_ of his powers."

"We've got a problem here, guys," Leo decided.

"But we have to save him." Hazel's eyes were pleading. "H-He's my brother!"

"We will save him," Caitlin promised, "But first, we have to find him."

Reyna really, really wanted to. She now had a sort of friendship with Nico - after all, they had delivered the Athena Parthenos together. She had learned a little bit about him and found that she could almost understand him, too. She cared about Nico, and she wasn't going to let some nutcase called Zoom hurt him.

"And we'll save him," Reyna offered. "Together."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Nico**_

Nico worked all day, though he wasn't really doing anything.

In fact, he didn't know how long he worked (there was no telling day or night in the underground compartment) but Zoom led Nico into his cell when he thought the demigod would need sleep.

And at that time, of course, Nico talked to Jessie, learning more about her and even telling her a little bit about himself. Her confidence level seemed to go up the more she talked, and Nico was starting to get to know the real Jessie, not the one that cowered in fear whenever Zoom walked by. And supposedly, Jessie was starting to learn about the real Nico, not the one that stayed in the shadows…

Nico explained to her about demigods, because he decided he had no other choice, since Zoom kept calling him, "son of Hades" and she had no idea what that meant. She seemed surprised to hear that the gods actually existed and confirmed that she was completely human, but she also told a strange story - one about the other earth that she lived on and how some people there had powers.

All in all, their conversations were good for the both of them. It lifted their spirits and gave them almost hope, though Nico knew, somewhere inside, that they were never going to get out. And since the son of Hades couldn't actually bring back the dead, Zoom would probably kill him, and soon Jessie, too.

So it was only a matter of time, and Nico and Jessie made the best of it, even locked up in their cells. Jessie would be the last person Nico remembered, the last person that he had become friends with.

There was always that chance, Nico believed at the bottom of his soul, that someone would rescue him. The demigods of the prophecy, maybe? Or his friends at Camp Half-Blood? _Wait_ , Nico thought. _I doubt any of them consider I'm their friend._

Of course, The Seven had gone on a quest to save him from the evil twin giants, accepted him onto their ship after that, then trusted him with handling the Athena Parthenos, which would unite the two camps. But they still probably thought that he was creepy Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades that was obsessed with death.

And even if they wanted to find him, it would be impossible. Who knew where Zoom's hideout was located? As far as Nico knew, he wasn't even in the same world.

Nico sighed. Jessie heard this, and she asked, "What's wrong?"

"I… I'm just thinking about my old life."

"Oh. I'm sure you had lots of friends."

That only made Nico feel worse.

"I miss my family, too," Jessie continued. "My dad, especially… But I've been in here so long…"

"Don't worry," Nico promised. "We'll get out of here."

He told Jessie this every single day, and really, that seemed to be the only thing keeping her going. She trusted him, and Nico hated to break her heart, but there was nothing he could do.

That was when she sighed and said, "I don't know, Nico. I'm starting to think -"

"Don't think that."

Her eyes were watery. "Zoom is going to kill us sooner or later, Nico, he -"

"I won't let that happen. I can summon a whole skeleton army, Jessie. Don't you want to see that?"

A faint smile tugged at her lips. "I sure do."

"Then that's what we'll do."

Just then, completely ruining their moment of friendship and trust, Zoom charged into the room, his eyes glowing brighter than usual. "What does it take, demigod?" he thundered at Nico. "Why isn't my wife alive yet?"

"It takes time." Then Nico thought of something, something that had been tugging at his mind for quite a while. He looked up at Zoom and asked, "Wait. If I _do_ make your wife come back from the dead, will you let Jessie and I go?"

Zoom snarled. "I will decide that when you succeed." Then he stalked off, his form flickering.

"He didn't say _no_ ," Jessie breathed. "Nico… do you think you could actually -"

"I'm sorry, Jessie, but I can't -"

"Are you sure? Maybe if you actually try -"

"I _have_ tried!" Nico blurted. "If I could bring back people from the dead, don't you think I would? But it's impossible. Hades is the god of the Underworld, and he's supposed to keep people in the Underworld, keep them _dead_. If he didn't, then maybe I could have… m-maybe I could have saved my sister!"

Jessie stared, open-mouthed.

Nico put his head down, trying to hide the tears that ran down his cheeks. "Nico," Jessie whispered softly. "I-I'm sorry. I'm just so desperate to get out of here… in any way possible… I can't take it! This cell, Zoom, it's all driving me crazy." And she started to cry, too.

Finally, Nico sniffled and said, "It's alright, Jessie. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I know how you feel, to be so alone… It's just that, I don't know what to do. Gods, I don't even know if we'll get out of here."

Jessie looked up at him, her eyes still tearing.

"Y-You mean that skeleton army won't work?"

"Zoom is really powerful… I'm being honest, Jessie… But I'll try to keep us alive," Nico said as another tear rolled down Jessie's cheek. "I'll try, as best as I can."

"Well," Jessie replied, wiping her face with her sleeve and making her chains rattle, "At least I've got you. We'll die together."

That actually made Nico kind of smile.

And when Zoom came to get him, Nico had a sort of calmness, knowing that whatever happened, he'd have Jessie and they had tried hard to get out of there.

* * *

Zoom pushed Nico into the room and growled, "Get done today, demigod. Or else your lifespan is only going to last this long." Then he left.

Nico glanced at the body of Zoom's wife. He hadn't mentioned to the metahuman that if he wanted to try to bring back someone from the dead, he would have gone to the grave. But Nico had no idea where the grave was, and he didn't want to give Zoom any ideas.

The son of Hades walked over to the body and started, again, his usual ritual of raising his hands over the body and thinking hard about life. That wasn't an easy thing, considering he was the son of the god of death. Didn't Zoom know that after someone died, their soul left the body? He couldn't expect Nico to just bring the soul back. Or maybe he did.

Honestly, Nico couldn't say what was on the metahuman's mind, but he knew, at the moment, that he had to concentrate. Even if it was on nothing particularly.

"If you came alive," he said to the body, "then that would make my life a lot easier. Because if you don't, _I'll_ die."

The dead woman didn't reply.

"And I'll be killed by your husband, Zoom," Nico replied. He would have asked, _Why did you marry him?_ but decided that would be rude, even if the woman was dead.

Usually, he could talk to the dead, but he had to go to their grave. And again, he didn't know where that was, and definitely didn't want Zoom to do such a thing. So, instead, he talked to the dead body.

Because really, he knew, that this was hopeless, and that he could never bring Zoom's wife back from the dead. And soon, _he'd_ be dead, too.

A couple of hours later, Zoom returned. "Did you do it?" he hissed, his voice angrier than usual.

"No," Nico said plainly.

That was when the metahuman lost it. He roared, making the building shake, and walked up to Nico. The son of Hades backed up against the wall, his eyes wide, but he already knew it was too late. Zoom reached forward and…


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry that I haven't posted in a couple of days, guys, but I was really busy. Anyway, the story's back on track.**

 _ **Jason**_

"Tell us more about Zoom," Jason said.

This was the thing that he and his friends had been wondering for _so_ long; there were so many secrets kept about the evil metahuman, but now it was finally time to spill them.

Barry sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Zoom is from another Earth, an enemy of the old Flash, though even he couldn't defeat him. Zoom keeps coming to Central City because he wants to kill me, and so far" - Barry sighed - "He's been pretty close."

"What happened?" Hazel wondered.

"Long story, but he did some bad damage. However, being The Flash allows me to heal quickly, but still…" Barry shuddered, and Jason immediately knew that it had been a dark time for him.

"Zoom is from another Earth," Dr. Wells said, stepping forward. " _My_ Earth."

"Ookay, so how do we get there?" Leo asked.

" _That's_ what we need to find out," Cisco answered, hopping onto a computer and typing something. "Harry, you know how to open a portal to your world, don't you?"

"Indeed," Dr. Wells agreed, then explained to the demigods that his first name was Harrison, so that was why Cisco called him Harry.

"Wait," Caitlin said. "Do you think we should call Jay? He might know more about Zoom than -"

"I know just as much as he does," Dr. Wells snapped. Jason guessed that he and this 'Jay', whoever he was, had bad blood.

"I think we should call him," Barry said. He turned to the half-bloods. "Jay Garrick was the old Flash, by the way."

"But how do you know him?" Annabeth asked.

"He came through a portal from his world. But he's not The Flash anymore because he lost his speed, thanks to Zoom."

"This Zoom sounds scary," Frank muttered.

"We're all going to die," Leo offered.

"Don't say that," Caitlin said. "It's not like we have to defeat Zoom. We can just go in there, get Nico, and leave."

"But it won't necessarily be easy," said Reyna. "Zoom's going to put up a fight, from what I've heard."

Everyone noticed that Dr. Wells was biting his lip really hard.

"What is it, Harry?" Cisco asked him.

"N-Nothing," Dr. Wells replied. Everyone stared at him, obviously not buying it. He sighed. "You know that my daughter, J-Jessie, was kidnapped by Zoom. She's probably being held near Nico. I was hoping that we could…"

"Dr. Wells, do you really think that we would just leave your daughter and rescue Nico?" Caitlin asked, walking over to him and smiling. " _Of course_ we'll save Jessie!"

"You never told us that you had a daughter," Percy told Dr. Wells. "She was kidnapped by Zoom? How come you never saved her?"

"It's complicated," Dr. Wells answered, "But now that you're all here, however, things might change…"

" _Might?"_ Leo asked, putting his arm on Dr. Wells's shoulder, "We change everything, man. We put the salsa on the chips. We make monsters come out of nowhere, things crawl out of the Earth -"

"I don't know if that's helping, Leo," Piper said, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, Jay should be here in -" Caitlin said, then stopped when a man, probably in his early thirties, with blonde hair came into the room.

"You called me?" he asked. Then he looked around the room. "Who are your friends?"

"Uh, long story," Barry said, "But they're demigods."

" _Demigods?_ As in, half god?"

Leo grinned. "Glad you understand."

"But how -"

"We don't really have time to explain," Dr. Wells cut in, giving Jay a death glare. "As you might now, my daughter's been kidnapped by Zoom."

"And so has our friend, Nico," Annabeth added. "We need to save him and Jessie."

"I see," Jay replied. "But Zoom comes from my world, so you're assuming I can take you there. Which, I can."

"We also thought we could use your help with rescuing them, Jay," Caitlin said, blushing a little.

That made Dr. Wells grumble.

"But are you sure you can face Zoom again?" Jay asked. "Remember, he's -"

"We aren't," Percy said. "We're just going to rescue Nico and Jessie and get out of there."

"But what if he tries to kill you?"

Barry took a breath and looked around at everyone. "We've got more people, Jay. _Demigods_. Zoom's gotta be scared."

"I doubt that, but come on, then," Jay said, leading everyone out of the room. "To my world we go."

* * *

They entered the room that Caitlin had shown Jason and his friends during her tour. The four black arms still rose up around the raised platform, almost like spider legs. Jason noticed that Cisco shuddered at the sight of it.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked him.

Cisco took a deep breath before speaking. "This was where the first Dr. Wells tried to kill me… he plunged his hand into my chest…"

The current Dr. Wells fidgeted awkwardly.

"It's alright, Cisco," Caitlin comforted. "That was in the past. We can trust this new Dr. Wells, can't we?" She shot him a look.

He cleared his throat and said, "Yes, of course."

"Anyway," Jay grumbled, giving a dirty look at Dr. Wells before turning to the platform, "Let's do this." He took a deep breath.

Slowly, a blue portal started to form, flickering like lightning and moving like waves in the ocean. It grew wider and wider, admitting a black hole in the middle, one big enough for someone to climb through. Jay turned to the others. "Alright, I'll go first."

He disappeared through the blue thickness, then Barry followed him. One by one, everyone started to file through the portal - when it was Jason's turn, he felt a strange sensation in his body as he climbed through. It was like being pushed through thick pudding, pudding that spun before him.

Then, he landed on hard concrete, and looked up. He was on a sidewalk that ran through a street full of tall buildings that looked like the buildings in Central City, except a little more futuristic. Lights ran up and down some of them, while others were made entirely out of glass. Cars drove down the streets, while people walked on the sidewalk, talking into their cell phones or holding shopping bags. It was late afternoon, and the air was damp and warm, as if a tropical storm had just passed.

Jason and his friends had to move out of the way as people walked by, so they ducked into a nearby alley. "So, this is it," Cisco murmured, looking around. "Earth Two."

"Let's go get Jessie," Dr. Wells said through gritted teeth, obviously agitated.

"But we have no idea where she and Nico are," Frank replied.

"If we can find a computer, maybe I can track them down…" Caitlin murmured, looking around.

"Wait, Cisco, what did you see when you vibed?" Jay asked him.

Cisco looked around, his eyes wide.

"Say _what?_ " Leo asked.

He sighed, seeming to give up. "I'm a metahuman," Cisco explained. "When I touch people, I can see things… things about their lives. I'm called The Vibe."

"Did you name yourself?" Leo wanted to know, but Percy cut him off.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, but it's just not something that I tell many people," Cisco muttered. "Anyway, Jessie was being held in a large and dark room, in a cell. Her hands were tied at the wrists, and she was talking to Zoom… that's about it."

"A large and dark room…" Jay murmured, tapping his chin.

"That doesn't really narrow it down," Piper offered.

"Well, we probably know one thing for sure," Annabeth said, and Jason could almost see the gears turning around in her head. "Zoom's hideout is not going to be somewhere that most people can see it, and it's probably not conveniently located, because it's not like it takes him a long time to get there. So maybe it's…"

"Far off in the country?" Hazel asked.

"No," Barry said, catching on. "Underground."


	8. Chapter 8

**Surprise! Jessie's point of view.**

 _ **Jessie**_

Jessie didn't know what was taking so long. Usually Zoom brought Nico back to his cell eventually, to get some food and sleep… but he wasn't here yet.

She began to grow worried, watching the door that Nico was always led through. There wasn't a sound, and Zoom hadn't visited her in hours, either. She didn't really care where _he_ went, but if he was harming Nico, then she definitely did.

"Hello?" she decided to call. "Where did you go, Zoom?"

There was no blur of blue light that ran to her cage, growling. It was silent.

"Zoom!" she yelled again. "If you're going to leave, then at least don't leave _me_ here! And where's Nico? Where did you leave him?"

But she was only talking to darkness.

Jessie struggled in her bonds, trying to break free, though she had done that many, many times and knew that it was impossible. Then she heard it. A gasp from the door across the room.

Before she could say anything, Zoom came through, electricity crackling off of him as he held something limp in his arms. Jessie gasped when she realized it was Nico; the son of Hades had passed out, but she didn't know why.

"What did you do to him?" she demanded.

"Hush, girl," Zoo replied, smiling. "He's not dead."

"I won't _hush_ ," Jessie replied, growling herself. "I've spent months cowering before you, and I know you're going to kill me, but I don't care! Because when it comes to my friends -" She looked at Nico and choked back a sob.

"Oh, so loyal, Jessie. To your father, too. And now you've grown fond of this demigod, this useless piece of trash that can't use his own powers!"

"Don't talk about Nico that way!"

"What are you going to do?" Zoom asked. "You're locked in a cell, and you can't get out until your father does what I want. He's so -"

"This isn't about _me_ ," Jessie interrupted. "It's about Nico. What did you do to him?"

"Oh, just this." Jessie had only thought that one of Zoom's hands were lying on top of Nico, but then she realized that it was _in_ Nico. Zoom slowly pulled it out, making Nico shudder, then showed it to her. It was sticky with blood and she fought the urge to throw up.

But she couldn't open her mouth. She just stared, wide-eyed, until she finally squeaked, "N-Nico… He didn't do what you asked?"

"No," Zoom replied. "He's no son of Hades."

"Maybe it was impossible for him -"

"It doesn't matter!" Zoom yelled. "He's dying now, and there's nothing you can do to save him."

Tears rolled down Jessie's cheeks, but she wasn't just going to sit there and cry. Rage swelled inside her. "You should have killed me instead of Nico. He's completely innocent; he doesn't even live here, didn't even know who you are. He's part of another world, a world that you can't get to no matter how hard you try. You _can't_ get everything you want, but you didn't need to let out your anger on a fourteen-year-old boy. In fact, killing anyone isn't going to get you anywhere. You're the most horrible monster -"

"Be quiet!" Zoom yelled. "You don't _dare_ speak to me that way, because your friend's life hangs in the balance. So does your father's, and everyone else that you love."

But Jessie had gotten her message across. She turned to Nico, completely blocked Zoom out, and prayed (to whatever god was listening, if they were real) that he would be okay. And she knew, deep down, that that was the only thing she could do.

She might never escape. Nico had been a chance for her to break free, to get away from Zoom, but now it was over. _She_ had no chance, no chance at all.

And she cried, watching the body of Nico in front of her.

 **Short chapter, I know, but watch what happens. I mean, _read_ what happens. ;) **


	9. Chapter 9

_**Piper**_

Underground was not one of Piper's favourite places.

A putrid smell immediately encased her as soon as they climbed down the ladder from the manhole, and the air was warm and sticky. Most daughters of Aphrodite would shriek and spray perfume everywhere, but Piper wasn't like that. Still, it was obvious that the smell bothered everyone; they wrinkled their noses in disgust.

"Did Zoom have to pick the most disgusting place in town?" Leo asked, scowling.

"Well, I guess he figures that not many people would come here," Hazel replied. She looked around before asking, "Which way?"

The tunnel led to the left and right, and it looked exactly the same on each side. "Uh…" Piper stuttered.

"Zoom gives off a certain radiation, doesn't he?" Caitlin suggested. "But how can we detect that?"

"Well, he's got a thing for lightning, just like Barry," Cisco continued. Then he turned to Jason. "And Jason's a son of Jupiter -"

Jason nodded and stepped forward. He closed his eyes, trying to sense the electricity in the air. He pointed down the left side of the hall. "This way."

They started to walk, the water at the bottom of the tunnel sloshing around. Piper saw rats scurry in and out of holes, and wondered what other nasty creatures lurked in the sewers. _Monsters, maybe_ , she thought. _Giant blobs of slime_.

Cisco started to talk about how Barry could direct lightning if he ran really fast, trying to distract them from the smell. However, that got him, Barry, and Jason into a conversation about electrical abilities, so Piper tuned out.

She watched Hazel, who was looking around with her eyes narrowed to slits. "Do you sense anything, Hazel?" she asked, knowing that the daughter of Pluto had underground exclusive powers.

"Just a few swerves and twists in the tunnels, but Jason should know which way to go," Hazel replied. Her face darkened, and only then did Piper notice the constant worry in her voice.

"Hey," she comforted, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll find Nico. He'll be okay."

Hazel bit her lip. "But Zoom's so powerful, Piper. What if… what if he -"

"Nico's been through Tartarus for gods' sakes, Hazel. I don't think he's going to let some metahuman hurt him."

Hazel managed a weak smile. "You make Zoom sound so small."

"Yeah, compared to the goddess of the Earth, he is."

Hazel laughed, and they continued on, stepping through the muck. Indeed, they encountered some twists and turns, but Jason (and Barry, too) knew which way to go. "I hope Zoom isn't leading us into some sort of trap," Annabeth said at one point.

"Hey, it was your idea," Percy replied.

"And you're always right, Annabeth," Reyna comforted, and the daughter of Athena smiled back.

"Well, I hope we get there soon," Dr. Wells muttered. "Jessie can't wait forever."

Finally, after what seemed like hours and Piper's feet hurt, the tunnels started to grow wider. There was a door at the end of the one they were walking in, but luckily, it wasn't locked.

They entered a huge, dark chamber with echoing walls and floors. "This is it," Cisco breathed, looking around. "This is what I saw when I vibed."

Piper couldn't help but wonder what Cisco would see if he touched her. Her deepest, darkest fears? The things she had faced leading up to her discovering she was a demigod?

But right then, they had to focus. "Come on," Barry said, walking forward. "Zoom's gotta be around here -"

"Congratulations, Flash," the deepest, coldest voice Piper had ever heard echoed through the chamber. "You found me."

"Zoom," Jay hissed, stepping forward. "Show yourself."

"Oh, if it isn't Jay Garrick, the one who could never defeat me. What good are you now that you lost your speed?"

"I'm not alone this time, Zoom. I've got _friends_."

"And yet you still won't be able to stop me." That's when Zoom came forward, and Piper's mouth dropped. He was a huge gray figure that vibrated with electricity, wearing a mask so that you couldn't see his face (if he had one). He laughed, a sound that made everyone cringe, and said, "It's already too late."

"W-What do you mean?" Hazel asked.

"You must have come here for poor Nico di Angelo, am I right?" Zoom asked. "Welcome, demigods, by the way. I am _delighted_ to meet you."

"How do you know we're demigods?" Percy demanded.

"I discovered you a little while ago," Zoom said. "Saw that you had gone to S.T.A.R. Labs to help the incapable Flash with yet _another_ metahuman problem."

Barry clenched his fists but didn't say anything.

"I figured out who you were," Zoom continued, " _what_ you were. And so I made my way to that camp of yours and captured your friend, Nico di Angelo."

"Wait, you went to Camp Half-Blood?" Frank asked. "How is that possible?"

"In the same way that you came here."

"But we came because of a goddess…" Reyna murmured.

"You don't think that I have a portal to only _one_ world, do you?" Zoom smiled. "I want to learn more about you demigods, use your powers. But I needed Nico's power the most… to do something that he kept saying was impossible."

"And what was that?" Piper murmured, narrowing her eyes.

"Bring back the dead," Zoom answered.

Hazel's eyes widened. "That _is_ impossible… so if Nico couldn't do it… what did you do to him?"

Zoom hissed with laughter and stepped out of the way, revealing a scene that made Piper's hand fly to her mouth. There lay the motionless body of Nico di Angelo.

" _Nico!"_ Hazel screamed, running to her brother. She shook him, and the other demigods crowded around, panic encasing them. Meanwhile, Barry turned to Zoom, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"How _dare_ you hurt an innocent boy like this!" he yelled. "He never did anything to you. Why didn't you take me instead, if you're so keen for a prisoner?"

"Because you're useless, Flash," Zoom simply replied.

"Is he… is he alive?" Reyna asked, watching Nico.

"Oh, of course," Zoom said. "But his life is slowly slipping away. Unless you help him, of course."

"So you're just going to give him to us like that?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's useless, too. Couldn't do what I wanted him to do."

"But he _told_ you that he couldn't bring back the dead," Leo replied. "Why did you still hurt him?"

Zoom laughed. "Your concern is amusing, demigods. I hurt him as a punishment for what he _didn't_ do. Oh, and that was a punishment for someone else…" He flicked on a light switch, revealing a girl in a cell, her hands tied at the wrists, and her eyes wide.

"Jessie," Dr. Wells whispered.

"Dad!" Jessie yelled, struggling in her bonds while tears rolled down her cheeks.

Dr. Wells ran to her, trying to break the cage, but she shook her head. "It's no use, Dad, and you have to help Nico. He's dying!"

"Jessie, I have to help you -"

" _Please,"_ Jessie whispered, her eyes glistening. "Take him… take him somewhere safe. Leave me here, it's okay."

Dr. Wells seemed lost at words.

That's when Percy stood up. " _No,"_ he said, his voice low. "We're not going to leave you here. We're going to help you and Nico, and defeat this lousy upstart." He motioned to Zoom.

Zoom growled. "You can't -"

"Fine, but we'll at least get Jessie and Nico out," Cisco continued.

"Never," Zoom growled, stepping forward, and everyone sprang into action.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Barry**_

Barry had to agree with Percy. Zoom _was_ a lousy upstart.

He, Cisco, and the male demigods surrounded Zoom while the others tried to get Jessie out of her cell and haul Nico back into the sewer. The son of Hades was moving, Barry was glad to see, but he had a nasty wound in his chest.

However, he couldn't focus on what _they_ were doing, because Zoom was right in front of him, ready to attack. "Thank gods there's a lot of water in here," Percy murmured, raising his hands.

Pipes that lined the room started to break, and smelly, disgusting sewer water sprayed toward Zoom. But, as always, he _zoomed_ across the room, out of the way. He was faster than Barry, but The Flash wasn't going to give up - he wasn't alone now.

Jason flew up and started to chase after Zoom, zapping the metahuman with lightning. But he soon realized that that didn't do anything, since Zoom was pretty much _made_ out of electricity. "We need water," Jason said.

And so, Percy came riding the waves, shooting water at the metahuman. Leo shot fireballs out of his hand. Barry chased Zoom, trying to run faster than he ever had before. So did Frank, who had turned into a cheetah. They seemed to run in circles around the huge room, not really getting anywhere, but at least it bought the others time.

Barry wished, though he knew that this was probably impossible, that today would be Zoom's last day. It would save him so much worrying if the evil metahuman was dead now. He _was_ getting affected by the water, after all, but Barry didn't realize that it was also making him very angry. And that anger was at Percy.

He suddenly changed direction, zooming right at the son of Poseidon's wall of water. That made Percy lose concentration and he collapsed in a _SPLASH_ , rubbing his head when he hit the floor and looking up at the growling metahuman in front of him.

But Percy was brave. He raised his hands again, ready to soak Zoom, but the metahuman was _fast_. In a second he had Percy held at the throat, raising him up so that everyone could see.

Barry was the first to move. He ran at Zoom, balling his fists and crackling with electricity. "Let him go," he hissed.

Zoom laughed, making Barry's ears ring. "As if I'm going to listen to you, _Trash_. This boy has caused me enough pain already!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that I accomplished that," Percy choked, but Zoom only squeezed tighter.

"It's time to end this one's life, too, just like Nico di Angelo. What's your name, boy?"

"Percy," the son of Poseidon answered. "Percy Jackson."

"Goodbye, Percy." And Zoom started to squeeze.

But Barry wasn't going to take any of it, and neither were Percy's friends. "Heads up, Ugly!" Leo yelled, shooting flames at Zoom's face. This made the metahuman momentarily lose focus and almost drop Percy, but it wasn't enough.

Frank, still in cheetah form, used his cat skills to sneak up on Zoom and bite him in the leg. But since Zoom's form was vibrating and crackling with electricity, it didn't do Frank any good. Jason flew around the metahuman, trying to create a tornado, while Barry calmly walked up to his arch nemesis.

"How about a fight, Zoom?" he asked. "One-on-one?"

The corners of Zoom's mouth turned up. "That's not a wise thing to do, Flash, but why not?" As Barry had been hoping, Zoom dropped Percy onto the ground and his friends rushed to help him.

They stayed aside, watching in shock as Barry and Zoom had a very fast fistfight. Barry punched at the speed of sound, dodging Zoom's blows as he did. Unfortunately, as The Flash knew, Zoom _was_ faster and soon had Barry close to the ground, clutching his wounds.

Zoom stepped forward, chuckling. "Did you think you could actually beat me?"

Barry just looked up at the metahuman with pure hate, blood dribbling down his chin.

That's when the unremarkable happened. The ground cracked around Zoom's feet, and he looked around in confusion, trying to step away. "What is this?" he demanded. "Is this some sort of dirty trick -"

"That's right," Percy said, smiling and obviously knowing what was going on. "The Flash _can_ beat you, but not alone."

Rocks started to jut out of the ground, forming a cage around the raging metahuman. That stopped his one superpower - _speed_. Barry knew that it wouldn't hold Zoom forever, but he also didn't expect what was coming next.

Hands started to pop out of the ground, and as The Flash looked closer, he could see that they were skeleton hands, with torn flesh and bones jutting out. Zombies crawled out of the earth, moaning and groaning, and surrounding Zoom. They started to attack him, though Zoom electrified some, but there were still too many. It would hold the metahuman off for a long enough time, at least for Barry and his friends to get out of there, out of that world.

And so, Barry ran, like he never had before, toward the exit. The demigods followed him, Jason up in the air, carrying Percy, and Frank as a giant eagle, carrying Leo. They sped out of the room and into the sewer tunnel, meeting all their friends and locking the door behind them.

"We did it," Dr. Wells whispered. "We actually did it."

"Did you doubt us, Harry?" Cisco said, raising an eyebrow but smiling.

Dr. Wells just seemed so relieved; Barry noticed a faint tear trickling down his cheek as he hugged his daughter, Jessie.

"Now, we have to get out of here," Barry said. "That… whatever it was… won't hold Zoom forever."

"That was me," Hazel said. "And Nico."

"Nico? But he -"

"We'll explain later. Let's go."

And so, they ran again, which was Barry's absolute favourite thing to do - down the tunnel and eventually out of that world.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Nico**_

Nico groaned and tried to move. He didn't want to see that horrible cell where Zoom was keeping him again.

But there was something else shining on him - a new light, brighter and fresher than the one in the cell. And Nico was lying on something soft… a bed? No, that wasn't possible; Zoom would never be so kind…

That's when Nico heard voices. And they were familiar voices, of his friends. That's when he opened his eyes to see all of them staring down at him.

"Nico?" Hazel whispered, who was the closest to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I-I think so," Nico replied, his voice coming out strangely hoarse.

Then it all came back to him. Zoom wanting Nico to bring back the dead, but him failing, then Zoom reaching out and plunging his hand into Nico's chest… the son of Hades gasped, not wanting to think about it.

"Nico!" Reyna yelled. She looked over her shoulder at someone else, a girl with pale skin and brown curls, muttering something to her.

"Sorry," Nico coughed. "I… I was just thinking about -"

"It's over now, Nico," Annabeth comforted. "Zoom won't hurt you again."

"Where am I?" Nico decided to ask.

"S.T.A.R. Labs," a new voice answered. Nico looked up, into the green eyes of a man in his twenties with brown hair. "I'm The Flash, by the way, and Zoom is pretty much my worst enemy. I helped save you."

"T-Thank you," Nico stuttered. So _this_ was The Flash. Zoom had talked so much about him…

"We'll be back home soon, Nico," Percy promised. "At Camp Half-Blood. You're almost recovered."

"Wait," Nico said. He remembered something else… waking up around his panicked friends, in someone's arms, then promising to summon a skeleton army to stop Zoom. "The army of skeletons. Did I…?"

"You were great," Leo said, "But you like drained all your energy…"

"It took you longer to recover than normal," the girl with the brown curls said. She smiled at him. "I'm Caitlin, by the way, and I work here at S.T.A.R. Labs."

This was all so new to Nico. "We'll explain when we get back," Annabeth suddenly said, as if reading Nico's thoughts. "Right now, we wouldn't want to cram your brain with too much information…"

"Which is what you excel at doing, Annabeth," Leo chuckled, and the daughter of Athena rolled her eyes.

"So, is Zoom gone?" Nico wondered.

"Of course not," an older man with dark hair and glasses replied, his voice grim.

That's when Nico saw Jessie, and she had her arms wrapped around this man. Nico realized that it must be her father. Thank gods, she was out of her cell and with him again. "Jessie," Nico whispered.

Jessie smiled and walked up to Nico's bed. "You were amazing, Nico," she told him. "I… I thought you were dead, but I should have known that you wouldn't give up so easily. You summoned that whole army of skeletons and…"

Nico chuckled, though it turned into a cough. "Did that scare you?"

Jessie gave him a look. "Of course not. I've spent months locked away with a guy who constantly wanted to kill me, don't you think I can handle some skeletons?"

They both laughed, and this time, Nico didn't cough.

"I think you're getting better, Nico," Jason said. "We should go."

And so they helped Nico out of his bed and onto a chair, but he was feeling like he had a little more energy; talking to Jessie had made him feel warm inside.

"As always, thank you for everything," Annabeth told the team at S.T.A.R. Labs, which, Nico guessed, would now include Jessie. It made him sad that he would probably never see her again.

"No, _thank you_ ," Jessie corrected. "You saved me!"

"And you got us closer to beating Zoom than we ever had before," said The Flash.

"But you know, you should come by again," a man, about The Flash's age, with shoulder-length black hair and a grin that reminded Nico of Leo's added.

"Of course," Reyna agreed. "I had such a great time here -"

"Trying not to die," Leo chuckled.

Reyna ignored him and continued, "Meeting you all."

Everyone started to hug, which took some time, since everyone truly meant it, and then it was Nico's turn to hug Jessie. "I'm going to miss you," she told him, and Nico had to agree. Jessie was one of the best friends he ever had.

"But don't worry," she promised. "We'll see each other again."

That made Nico feel even better, and the demigods all filed together into a line. "Okay, Hera, or Juno, whatever," Percy said. "Show us the doors."

Two large metal doors appeared out of thin air, and Nico was immediately confused, but again, his friends said they would explain later. They stepped into the doors, which led into an elevator room, and waved at their S.T.A.R. Labs friends one more time before the doors closed and they were off.

When they opened, they were in fact at Camp Jupiter rather than Camp Half-Blood, but Nico was okay with that. He stepped into the bright sunshine, taking in the fresh air, and was feeling pretty good until he spotted her.

Juno was standing in front of the doors when the nine half-bloods stepped out, smiling her usual creepy smile. "Congratulations," she said. "You've come home in one piece yet again."

"Okay," Nico said, now more confused than ever, "You gotta tell me what's been going on."

Juno was soon surrounded by the Roman legionnaires, who looked just about as happy as she was. "Wait," Frank said. "What did you do to them?"

"Well, obviously I couldn't let them know that you attended the world of The Flash," Juno said, "or, rather, _worlds_. So I brainwashed them, starting with when you were doing the race, Reyna. They won't know anything.

"By the way, Reyna," Juno continued. "You were quite astonishing."

"Yeah, thanks," Reyna grumbled. "I'm pretty sure I would have been as great without doing that ridiculous -"

"Uh, uh, uh," Juno said, shaking her head. "Believe me, it payed off."

"Whatever you say, Juno," Leo muttered as the goddess walked off, the legionnaires seeming to grow bored and trailing off in different directions, back to their own personal activities.

Nico turned to his friends. "Spill."

"Uh, how about we get some donuts or something first?" Percy asked.

That's when Blackjack came hurtling out of the sky, whinnying loudly when he saw Percy. He nuzzled the son of Poseidon, stomping his hooves.

"Okay, boy," Percy told him. "We'll get donuts for you, too."

* * *

And soon, they were all sitting around the Roman donut shop, nine demigods and a pegasus, telling the story. When Nico's friends were finished, Leo said, "Well, I gotta admit, that was pretty awesome."

"Awesome?" Nico asked. "Zoom stabbed me in the -"

"Come on, Death Boy, you liked it. Oh, by the way, that's Cisco's new name for you."

Nico growled. "Who's Cisco? 'Cause he should _not_ call me Death Boy…"

Everyone laughed, and Nico had to smile, too. Maybe Leo was right. The adventure was kind of fun. He could definitely say that it was _out of this world_.

 **THE END**


End file.
